A Different Side of Peach
by Kaelee14
Summary: What happens when the ruthless Bowser returns and Mario is not able to face him? It's Peach's turn to shine, in this story I've just begun writing! I hope you all enjoy it! And please review! I would like everyones opinion! THANKS!
1. Introduction: Trouble With Mario

Peach was sitting on her gold-framed sofa in her room, staring out her large window

Peach was sitting on her gold-framed sofa in her room, staring out her large window. The beach looked as familiar and inviting as ever. She waited anxiously for the arrival of her younger cousin, Daisy. When finally, she decided that being four hours late was completely irrational, she noticed a pipe beginning to form on the shores of the beach. She took one last look and rushed out her door.

Once down the stairs, Toad escourted her to the front doors. After a few frantic knocks, she threw the door open. Mario tumbled into the room, wet and muddy.

"Mario?" She asked, "What is wrong?"

"Peach…" He started, "I-It's… Luigi." He said, his voice grave.

"What happened?" She asked

"He was taking Daisy here when…"

Peach propped Mario up into a chair. She quickly looked him over and noticed scorch marks on the back of his arms.

"Bowser." She scowled as the name formed on her lips.

Mario nodded, and as he gave into unconsciousness she knew what she had to do. "Toad, take Mario to the nurses and see if they can help him."

Toad whistled and there were suddenly five more mushroom-like citizens at his side. Toad issued them the order Peach had to him, and they were gone almost as quickly as they had arrived.

Peach rushed back up to her room and rummaged through her closet. She threw the numerous large, pink dresses aside and finally found what she was looking for. Just a regular outfit, but with abnormal properties. She looked hopefully at herself in her mirror, while she pulled her hair up into a flawless ponytail. On her way back down the stairs, she thought about Mario.

"_I should go say goodbye," _she thought to herself. So she gracefully sprinted to the part of the castle where her best friend would be taken care of for the next little while.

"Princess," Toad began, "Mario continues to mumble unintelligibly, is there anything you would like us to take note of?"

"Um no." Peach said very plainly. She tiptoed to his bedside and grabbed his hand. "Mario, where can I find Bowser?"

"Honestly, I'm not sure." Mario said, his speech slurred. "I was ambushed on my way to the Mansion."

"I'll look around there then." She said with a cheerful smile. "Goodbye Mario."

"Don't sound so grave," Mario said, his eyelids drooping. "We will meet again."

Her hand slipped from his, and she turned to the door. "I should hope so," She whispered. A lone tear traveled down her cheek as she glanced back at Mario. He gave her a smile, and fell back asleep.

Peach exhaled and left the small room. She ran through the castle's foyer, and out the front doors. She stopped short at the end of the bridge, undecided as to which path she was going to follow. She glanced at the sign that Mario and Luigi had built for her so she would know where each way would take her. She chuckled and looked back and forth at the left road, the road just forward and the right road. She turned to the right, and sped off down the dirt road that was marked as the way to the home of Mario's evil doppelganger Wario…


	2. Chapter 1: Departure

The large brick house began to come into view, after about running at least half a mile

The large brick house began to come into view, after about running at least half a mile. Peach slowed herself to a stop at the chain link fence surrounding the house. She walked over to where the gate was supposed to open, only to find a variety of padlocks connected to a chain, which was wrapped around two poles in order to keep intruders out.

Peach grumbled to herself, and paced in front of the gate. She looked up and noticed that it was only about six or seven feet tall, so she backed away, got a running start and climbed over the fence. The door was only just a few feet away, but there was something inside of her that made her want to turn around and go back to the castle.

Ignoring the feeling, Peach stomped fearlessly to the door. She knocked as hard as she could, and seconds later a large man dressed in yellow appeared in the doorway.

"Peach?" Wario inquired, "What do _you _want?"

"I've come to ask you for your help." She said, placing her hands on her hips.

Wario laughed a low, booming laugh. "As if I would help anyone! Especially someone like… you."

"Bowser has returned, and has taken Luigi and Daisy captive!" She said, trying to sound mighty, "And Mario is unable to help at the present time."

Wario leaned casually against the doorframe. "You really expect me to believe that Bowser has beaten my ignorant, brother, the hero of the land?" He said sarcastically.

"Quite so…" Peach started, looking away.

Wario furrowed his eyebrows, and sighed. "I guess I could help you." He said, feeling defeated.

Peach shook his hand violently, "Um… I might need a bit more help." She confessed.

"You don't mean…" He started, receiving a nod from Peach. Wario sighed again, "My brother can be extremely stubborn."

"I realize that, but we need him to help save the Mushroom Kingdom." She said stepping towards the padlocked gate. "You gonna unlock those?"

Wario chuckled as he simply shook the gate open. "They're not real locks, they are just there so people will leave me alone."

"A little anti-social, are we?" She said giggling.

Wario followed her slowly back up the dirt road. When they finally arrived at the fork, they took the road that was directly straight from the castle bridge. A large, dark building, surrounded by trees was what they found at the end of the road. Peach shivered, however Wario showed no sign of fear. He trudged to the front door, which to Peach's surprise wasn't guarded at all.

Spontaneous lightning struck as they followed the stepping stones to the front door. "_9, 10, 11, 12…" _Peach counted the stones in her mind. Once she had reached twenty-one, they stood in front of a large, medieval-looking door. Wario pounded on it, which ended up in more spontaneous lightning.

Not much after Wario knocked a tall, lean man stood in the doorway. Dressed completely in purple, with pointed boots. He folded his arms at the sight of the Princess, and snickered at the sight of his brother.

Peach was the first to speak. "Waluigi, we've come to ask for you're help."

He scoffed as he stepped onto the porch and shut the large stone door behind him. "Please," She pleaded, "The Mushroom Kingdom depends on you! Um… kind of."

Waluigi just scoffed again, never saying a word. Wario turned red with immediate anger, and grabbed Waluigi by the neck of his shirt.

"Now you listen here," He said darkly, "You'd better agree to come with us… _Or else._" This just earned Wario a high-pitched cackle.

Waluigi had crossed the line. Wario picked him up and shoved him harshly against the wall. "You're gonna be sorry that I have to repeat myself," Wario said angrily, "Now, you're gonna clean up your act, and come with us to save your arch nemesis and 'is girlfriend." He set Waluigi back on his feet and waited for him to say something.

"What happened to Luigi?" He asked

"Bowser…" Peach growled.

He laughed, earning a glare from Wario. "Well, this is a twist! Mortal enemies saving the heroes!"

"So you'll help us?" Peach asked brightly.

"Yeah, I got nothin' better to do." He said, acting like he was important.

"Great!" Peach said glancing quickly at Wario. "We'd better head off then."

Peach led the way back to the castle. Wario and Waluigi never fought, surprisingly, and that made the walk back to the castle seem much shorter than it actually was.

When they were back at the castle, they all sat in the foyer and tried to figure out some sort of a plan. Peach decided to leave the planning to the criminal masterminds, since she had never done anything like this before. They agreed, which made Peach feel incredibly left out. She longed to go back to talk with Mario, but Toad and the nurses regrettably forbid it.

"I'm sorry Princess." Toad had said to her, "But Mario needs all the sleep he can get."

"I understand Toad, thank you for taking care of him." Peach replied.

"There is no thanks necessary!" He explained, "We owe Mario our lives."

Peach gratefully nodded and walked away. Wario and Waluigi sat on the floor, conversing and looking at a map of Toad Town. She sighed and ran up to her room. She rummaged through her closet once again, and found her pink jumpsuit. It looked like sweats and a pink jacket, which was pretty much exactly what it was. She threw it on, redid her hair and rushed back down the stairs. It surprised her when Wario and his brother were no longer going over their plan.

She found them waiting by the entrance, and walked over to them. "So, how'd it go?"

"Pretty good" Waluigi confessed, "I think we'll be able to get near the mansion in less than a few hours."

"That's great!" Peach said, "So, what about Bowser?"

"What about him?" Wario said, "He's just a giant koopa, how hard could it possibly be to beat the crap out of him?"

"Judging by Mario's recent appearance," She said, "I'd say, pretty hard."

"Don't worry sweetheart!" Waluigi said, "We'll get the big bad guy and save your little friends!"

"Okay, there's two things I think you should know." Peach said putting her hands on her hips. "One, **never **call me sweetheart."

Wario chuckled, and Waluigi shrugged. "Two," She said glancing at Wario, "I hope you realize that I don't plan to sit in the corner and watch while you _try _to, as you so lightly put it, 'beat the crap out of Bowser' got it?"

"Okay, okay." The two said together. "We get it."

"Good, now lets start going." She said grinning sweetly, "We'll want to get as far as we can before nightfall."

So, the temporary trio left the safety of the castle. Peach tried to keep her senses sharp, and she tried to be as acutely aware of her surroundings as possible. Waluigi and Wario did the same. However, there was one thing that they _weren't _aware of. As the sun began to fall over the horizon, the trio never noticed the cloaked figure that continually followed them on their journey. . .


	3. Chapter 2: A New Addition

Darkness soon fell upon the land, and the trio laid silently under the stars. Not even ten minutes had passed by the time Peach heard snoring. She chuckled, and continued to stare at the shining sky. A shooting star passed, and she silently made a wish.

"_I wish that we will be able to defeat Bowser and bring peace back to the Mushroom Kingdom._" She said to herself.

After her silent plead, sleep overtook her. Her dreams were filled with happiness, and the triumph of defeating Bowser. No sooner than that, she awoke to the rising sun. She turned to her side, only to find Wario and Waluigi sleeping soundly. She stood up and stood right in the middle of them.

"Come on you lazy bums! Get up!" She half-yelled, gaining no response. She quickly turned to Wario and softly kicked him in the belly. This time, he stirred. Peach tried kicking him again, and he sat up quicker than she had thought possible.

"What's the meaning of all this?" Wario asked gruffly, staring at her pink and white tennis shoes.

"I've just been trying to get you up." Peach responded softly.

"Well there's no need for violence little lady." A voice from behind her said.

"Oh Waluigi, just shut up!" Wario said to his brother. "Its not like that actually hurt!"

"Hey, cool it!" Waluigi retorted. "Let's just get going."

"Um, I agree." Peach whispered.

Wario grumbled, and then attempted to stand up. His large middle would not allow it. "Uh could I get a little help please?" He asked.

Waluigi jumped up before Peach could even extend her hand forward, and in no time Wario was on his feet.

Peach brushed her hands on her pants. "Alright then." She said quietly.

Wario chuckled then the trio gathered up all of their belongings and began walking down the road. Not too much farther down the road, large shrubs began to line up against the end of the road on either side. The trio thought nothing of it, until they began to rustle. This was odd, because there happened to be no wind or breeze whatsoever. Peach fearfully picked a stick up, and held it at the ready. Wario clenched his hands into fists along with Waluigi. Suddenly, a black cloaked figure jumped onto the road.

Peach yelped as Wario and Waluigi threw their fists at the unknown figure. It threw back it's hood, revealing the face of a young woman.

"Rosalina?" Peach inquired, tossing the stick to the side of the road. The woman nodded, and turned toward the other two just before their punches hit her. With a flick of her wrist, Wario and Waluigi were thrown backwards. Wario grunted and attempted to get up, however he soon asked for help once again.

They both came and stood next to Peach, and Rosalina nimbly glided over in front of her. "I hear that Mario has been harshly wounded, and that Luigi and Daisy have been taken captive and that Bowser is yet again terrorizing the Mushroom Kingdom." She said in a calm, high-pitched voice.

Peach nodded, along with Wario and Waluigi. "How'd you hear that?" Peach asked.

"Oh things like that just get around." She said, waving her hand in no particular direction.

"Oh." Peach said.

"Why hello!" Waluigi interrupted, stepping nimbly in front of Peach.

"Rosalina." She said, putting her hand out to introduce herself.

"Waluigi." He said, shaking her hand, "Pleased to meet you."

"And, you are?" Rosalina said, looking over at Wario.

"Wario." He said very plainly, not bothering to move forward to shake her hand.

"Right." She said, letting her hand fall to her side.

Peach cleared her throat, and suddenly gained the attention of the other three people around her. "I think..." She started.

"That we should get moving." Wario said for her.

Waluigi agreed, and Peach turned to Rosalina. "Are you going to come along with us?" She asked.

"I believe so," Rosalina said, "If that would be alright. I figured that you could use my help."

"Of course!" Peach said glumly, "That would be wonderful! We're always glad to welcome another friendly face, when walking proudly to our doom."

Waluigi shot Peach an angry look, while Rosalina continued to smile, and Wario said not a word.

"Sorry," Peach said, tilting her head downwards, "I was just, uh, thinking aloud I guess."

"Let's just get moving," Wario said angrily, "And for real this time."

"Yeah lets!" Peach said in her usual, peppy voice.

And so, the trio -with a new addition- began to follow the road yet again.

Meanwhile, back at the castle, things weren't going as planned. However, Mario was up and about the castle most of the day, but the Mushroom People refused to let him leave the safety of the castle.

"I'm sorry sir." a small Mushroom Person said, "But it is for your own safety."

"My safety." Mario grumbled, standing up. He then began to stomp up the stairs. He wandered around, eventually finding Peach's study. The first thing he noticed when he opened the door, was the large, round table sitting in the middle of the study. Large, leather-bound books were stacked in piles all over it. In front of an overstuffed armchair, lay the only open book on the table. There was a quill laying on it, with an inkwell and a quill stand to the side.

Mario chuckled. "She always did like old fashioned things." He whispered to himself, placing the quill into its stand. He was just about to leave when he noticed his name written on one of the pages. He ran his gloved hand over the black lettering.

_Dear Journal,_  
_Today was the first time I have seen Mario in a very long time. Oh how I missed him! However, when he arrived, he was scorched terribly. I knew Bowser had something to do with it. Poor Mario, oh I wish that he would awake, just so that I can let him know. . ._

"Know what?" Mario yelled, shuffling through the pages. Finding nothing revealing the secret Peach had planned to tell him, he banged his fists against the table. He rushed out of the study, and down to the foyer.\

"Master Mario! Where have you been?" An elderly Mushroom Person asked, receiving only a grumble from Mario.

Mario ran through the doors to Toad's room. "Oh, Master Mario! Can I be of service?" He asked

"Yes." Mario said angrily, "Let me leave."

"Well, that's one thing I just cannot do." Toad said coolly.

"Then I guess you _can't _be of service." Mario growled, turning on his heels and leaving the room almost as quickly as he had came in.

"Master Mario! Wait! You mustn't leave!" Toad yelled after him, leaving the room also.

"Where's he off to?" Toad's assistant inquired.

"He's leaving!" Toad exclaimed.

Mario stomped back into the foyer, and towards the front doors.

"Master Mario! You don't want to do this! Come back!" Toad cried. Mario ignored Toad's plead, and threw the front doors open. Toad ran after him, only to find that he had began to run across the main bridge. "MASTER MARIO! DON'T GO AFTER HER! SHE WON'T BE ABLE TO DEAL WITH THE STATE YOU'LL BE IN WHEN YOU REACH HER!" He yelled

Peach walked behind the group, her mind racing. Was Mario okay? Would Daisy and Luigi be able to survive while the group raced to their rescue? If Mario got well, would he come after them? She hoped that he wouldn't, and hoped that he would stay so he could regain all of his strength.

"Peach, come along now!" Rosalina said from in front of her.

Peach shook her head and jogged up to the group. Wario pulled her just behind them. "What's up?" He asked, gripping her arm.

"I-its nothing." Peach stuttered.

Wario gave her the "I'm not stupid" look. "Seriously Peach, come on."

"I'm worried about Mario!" She whispered sadly, "I just hope he's okay, and I left without saying something... important." Her eyes welled up with tears.

"Oh dangit don't cry!" Wario whispered. "I'm sure Mario's okay, and that he'll be fine when we get back."

"_If___we get back!" Waluigi snorted. Peach's tears spilled out, and she turned to hug Wario.

"Great job Mr. Smarty Pants!" Wario grumbled. Waluigi just rolled his eyes.

"Come on Peach! It's just Mario!" Waluigi scoffed.

"You don't understand!" She yelled at him, "I'm in love with him!"

Wario's eyes enlarged, Waluigi's jaw dropped, and from behind, the bushes rustled.


End file.
